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12.13.12

Rice Drops Sec. of State Run

Lucas Jackson/Reuters, via Landov

Amidst widespread partisan criticism, Susan Rice is dropping her name from consideration for the position of Secretary of State. Rice, who is currently the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, was in the running for the job after Hillary Clinton decided she would step away from the post. “If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama obtained by NBC News. Rice’s candidacy for the State Department’s top job came under attack from the GOP for her characterization of the September attack on the American consulate in Benghazi as a “spontaneous reaction” to a YouTube video.